Ice

Written by Ed McBain

Narrated by Dick Hill

Snow whips through the city’s streets like lethal daggers when a young actress leaves the theater after her latest performance. She walks home instead of taking the subway, and soon the snow on the ground is stained red with her blood. A cold, hard winter is blowing in, and it’s bringing greed and murder.

For Detectives Carella, Kling, Meyer, and Brown, the sudden storm that has covered the city in a suffocating sheet of ice is only the beginning of their problems. From a multimillion-dollar showbiz scam and diamonds spilling out of a dead man’s vest to a cold-hearted rapist prowling the streets and a stone-cold murderer on the loose, the frozen grip of fear is strangling the city. It is up to the men of the 87th to bring the heat.

Bestselling author Ed McBain pulls out all the stops in Ice, a classic installment of his famed 87th Precinct series that blends intense plotting, biting dialogue, and gripping suspense. The New Yorker hails Ice as “a real stunner!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781455873753

Ed McBain

Ed McBain, a recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's coveted Grand Master Award, was also the first American to receive the Diamond Dagger, the British Crime Writers Association's highest award. His books have sold more than one hundred million copies, ranging from the more than fifty titles in the 87th Precinct series (including the Edgar Award–nominated Money, Money, Money) to the bestselling novels written under his own name, Evan Hunter—including The Blackboard Jungle (now in a fiftieth anniversary edition from Pocket Books) and Criminal Conversation. Fiddlers, his final 87th Precinct novel, was recently published in hardcover. Writing as both Ed McBain and Evan Hunter, he broke new ground with Candyland, a novel in two parts. He also wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. He died in 2005. Visit EdMcBain.com.

Reviews for Ice

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Firstly I think it's only fair that I point out that despite this being no 36 in the 87th Precinct series this is the first that I've actually read (it was sent to me by a friend and I thought that I would at least give it a go) and murder/mystery isn't a genre that I habitually read . Both may have a bearing on my rating.The story takes place during a brutally cold winter in an unnamed US city that is obviously New York with a dancer from a successful show walking home late at night after a performance. As she nears her apartment building, someone steps out of the shadows and shoots her dead. Ballistics soon reveals that the same gun had been used in the murder of a small-time drug dealer a week or so earlier. Steve Carella of the 87th Precinct, and his fellow detectives work diligently, but are unable to find a link between the two victims or any plausible motive so when another apparently unconnected person is shot with the same gun it seems that they are after crazy person killing people at random. This is the worst possible scenario for the team.Meanwhile Detective Bert Kling spends most of his nights lying awake staring at his gun following his recent divorce and there are also a couple of other crimes taking place simultaneously. I'm not sure if this the norm or if have they had been fully fleshed out in previous books but there was little in the way of characterisation here. I managed to work out who the perpetrator was quite early on as well as the conclusion, the action was largely procedural with few twists and turns but no great leaps either. Overall I felt that this was a steady rather than spectacular piece of writing and whilst I wouldn't avoid reading other books in the series I wouldn't rush to grab them either.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“Crazies make police work difficult.”3 people murdered by the same gun, with no apparent connection. The work of a crazy? That’s what the detectives of the 87th Precinct have to find out! Ice can be frozen water, diamonds, or it can be a verb that means to clinch. Or to kill. Ice, theater ice, “…is that someone in the box office puts aside a ticket, usually a house seat, Mr. Carter, and later sells it to a broker for a much higher price.” This is a really good book, much better than the previous one in this series! I really liked the side story of Brother Anthony and the Fat Lady! Now there’s a couple of characters! Same can be said about the Dirty Panties Bandit! AND the Mad Shitter!The Kling ‘affair’ from the previous book doesn’t get mentioned until page 101 of this edition, which seemed pretty late to me, as it was such a big part of that book. Oh well.Good read, especially for the 36th book in a series!

[lamour_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The detectives of the 87th Precinct are faced with solving the seeming unrelated murders of a very attractive blonde dancer and a low life drug dealer. The victims deaths are from gun shots to the face on dark streets at night. When a gem dealer suffers the same fate in his underground garage, the detectives led by Steve Carella start interviewing anyone who knew them to find the connection.Meanwhile, the a couple of crazies- a man who dresses like a monk and his female partner who kills with a straight razor- start searching for a cache of cocaine that the detectives do not realize is the missing link in their case. There are the usual personal issues the detectives face in their private lives. The lone female detective faces some harrowing moments as a decoy looking for a couple of rapists. As with McBain's other novels that I have read, the reader learns a great deal about police procedure and especially the tediousness of following up leads and interviewing individuals.

[lewilliams-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A great police procedural in the 87th precinct. Complete with all the colorful men and women, both police officers and criminals that I've come to enjoy reading about in this series..

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A solid read, especially if you care about the character development of the guys in the shop. Bert Kling is our major character, and his dismal love life. It's a good argument for gun registering....and not killing diamond merchants.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What could be the connection between the murder of a low-life drug dealer and a dancer in a big hit musical? So far as detectives Carella and Meyer know, only the gun which killed them. That is until they start digging.Not being particularly fond of police procedurals as a genre, I was pleasantly surprised reading this one. As the author blurb in the back cover states, this has "sharp wit, shrewd plotting, fast action, and hard-hitting realism," which is all true, but what I enjoyed the most were the interactions of the characters. Especially those which gave a window into each cops personal life. These are men and women doing their jobs, but not living them. The crimes and street life were vivid and stomach churning at times, it all felt very real. No superheroes here, just hard working policemen trying to stay sane under pressure, fear and the ugly truths they have to face each day.

[herschelian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another totally absorbing thriller from McBain. I'm additcted to the 87th Precinct novels, and you will be too if you read this.